Bill adds killing Ore. LE back to crimes eligible for death penalty
By: Noelle Crombie, The Oregonian
PORTLAND, Ore. — A bill that narrows the crimes eligible for the death penalty heads to a vote of the Oregon House on Wednesday with a new provision: A last-minute change adds back the killing of law enforcement, corrections and parole and probation officers to the definition of aggravated murder.
The bill now defines aggravated murder to apply to acts of terror that kill two or more people, killings in jail or prison by people already convicted of aggravated murder, the premeditated murder of a someone younger than 14 and the killing of officers.
Under current state law, aggravated murder covers crimes such as killing more than one person or killing someone during a rape or robbery. Senate Bill 1013 would reclassify those crimes as first-degree murder, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
